Network

A network is a group of connected points, often called nodes, that exchange information, goods, money or services through links between them. In computing, a network is a set of devices that communicate, from a home Wi-Fi system to the internet. In payments, the term covers card networks, bank transfer systems and correspondent banking chains through which money moves. In crypto, a blockchain network is the set of nodes that share and verify a ledger, often organised as a peer-to-peer system with no central server; "mainnet" and "testnet" name its live and trial versions. The word is also used for social and business networks. Many networks become more useful as they grow, the network effect, which Metcalfe's law tries to quantify.